Argentina has created a new General Agreement for the Development of the
Pharmaceutical Industry that uses sales tax to fund an essential drugs
programme. Companies that follow the Agreement must contribute 3% of their
domestic sales, which will be used to supply essential drugs to the poor.
Additionally, they must reinvest at least 3% of revenue into research and
development. The Agreement also made new procedures for fast-track product
registration, limited the number of approvals per company, and standardized
procedures for granting pharmaceutical price increases. Multinational companies
opposed the new scheme, but the national pharmaceutical industry association
CILFA and the Cooperla cooperative both voiced support for it. They claimed the
Agreement would lead to the growth of the national industry, import
substitution, new jobs and a better balance of trade.